Taunton cop changes plea to guilty in club assault
by Dave Wedge and Marie Szaniszlo
Thursday, February 27, 2003
A fired Taunton cop changed his plea to guilty yesterday as jury selection was about to
begin in his trial on charges of assaulting a man at a nightclub where he was on duty.
Bruce W. Turner pleaded guilty in New Bedford Superior Court to eight counts of assault
and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and two counts each of
making threats and intimidating a witness.
He also pleaded guilty to conduct unbecoming a police officer, a civil rights violation.
In December 2001, the Taunton City Council voted 5-3 to fire Turner, a 16-year veteran of
the police department, for filing a false report and violating department rules and
regulations in connection with a brawl at the Jukebox nightclub, where he was working
a detail that October.
Turner, now 45, allegedly allowed his two underage sons and their friend to enter a
fund-raiser at the club without paying the cover charge.
Kyle LeTellier of Portsmouth, R.I., who sponsored the event, alleged that when he
questioned Turner, the officer became confrontational.
LeTellier claimed that when he tried to alert the manager, a group of men, including Seth
and Kyle Turner and Brooks Cornell, attacked him and knocked him to the floor while the
officer stood by without intervening.
At some point, LeTellier alleged, Turner entered the fray and kicked him in the ribs.
Until yesterday, he denied any wrongdoing. But shortly after the brawl, the U.S. Justice
Department began investigating him for possible civil rights violations.
Judge Robert Kane sentenced Turner to a year in jail, only 60 days of which Turner will actually have to serve, and three years'
probation.
Kane also ordered a stay of the sentence, giving him until March 25 to report for jail, and allowing him to serve out his time in Duke
County, since he was an officer in Bristol County.
-Boston Herald
by Dave Wedge and Marie Szaniszlo
Thursday, February 27, 2003
A fired Taunton cop changed his plea to guilty yesterday as jury selection was about to
begin in his trial on charges of assaulting a man at a nightclub where he was on duty.
Bruce W. Turner pleaded guilty in New Bedford Superior Court to eight counts of assault
and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and two counts each of
making threats and intimidating a witness.
He also pleaded guilty to conduct unbecoming a police officer, a civil rights violation.
In December 2001, the Taunton City Council voted 5-3 to fire Turner, a 16-year veteran of
the police department, for filing a false report and violating department rules and
regulations in connection with a brawl at the Jukebox nightclub, where he was working
a detail that October.
Turner, now 45, allegedly allowed his two underage sons and their friend to enter a
fund-raiser at the club without paying the cover charge.
Kyle LeTellier of Portsmouth, R.I., who sponsored the event, alleged that when he
questioned Turner, the officer became confrontational.
LeTellier claimed that when he tried to alert the manager, a group of men, including Seth
and Kyle Turner and Brooks Cornell, attacked him and knocked him to the floor while the
officer stood by without intervening.
At some point, LeTellier alleged, Turner entered the fray and kicked him in the ribs.
Until yesterday, he denied any wrongdoing. But shortly after the brawl, the U.S. Justice
Department began investigating him for possible civil rights violations.
Judge Robert Kane sentenced Turner to a year in jail, only 60 days of which Turner will actually have to serve, and three years'
probation.
Kane also ordered a stay of the sentence, giving him until March 25 to report for jail, and allowing him to serve out his time in Duke
County, since he was an officer in Bristol County.
-Boston Herald